Garage Wine Co.
MAIPO & MAULE VALLEY, CHILE
Hand made wine was the goal when Derek Mossman Knapp started the Garage Wine Co. a decade or so ago. Making this 'garagiste' wine in Chile was something that simply wasn't done. Chile was about big companies, volume production and large families, whereas Derek sold most of his initial produce to his friends and family.
Things grew, an underground movement of people trying and wanting their wines grew and so cases started being sold to people who weren't in the inner circle. All the harvests collected and fermented in open top fermenters with manual plunging of the cap and native yeasts from the 185 year old cellar making them one of only a few wineries in Chile to use natural yeasts. The wines are aged for two winters in barrel, and then a year in bottle before release. Basically, it is as much of a hands off process as possible! When it comes to bottling, they use bottles that have been used before - no melting down and reforming, quite simply cleaning them and reusing. Much more environmentally friendly, before being dunked in melted down food-safe crayon wax to seal the bottles!
These are lovely rich styles of wine, powerful, juicy and full, yet balanced and elegant. A fab range of wines that I'm really pleased to be stocking.
